Splendidly original, with a touch of slapstick, Enron is a wonderfully entertaining and informative portrait of corporate collapse

Lucy Prebble’s Enron, directed by Rupert Goold, was a hit at Chichester last
year. It was first brought to London by the Royal Court, and now opens in
the West End, so a lot more people can see it. Ken Lay (Tim Pigott-Smith) is
the affable old-school CEO of the energy company Enron, looking forward to
playing more golf in his retirement and delighted to receive birthday cards
from his buddy Dubya, who calls him “Kenny Boy”. In his place, he appoints
the younger Jeffrey Skilling — like so many brilliant minds behind huge
financial meltdowns, a graduate of Harvard Business School. Sam West is
superb in the role. Initially, he is a boffin with a weird, slicked-down
hairstyle, thick specs and trousers too short. He “hasn’t slept since he was
14”, and is not, as a colleague puts it, “a people person”. He possesses a
quite breathtaking arrogance. Gradually, his